Guidelines for M.S. Degree (PBIO-MCB)

Important Deadlines

• End of first semester – Course Approval Form to the MCB Graduate Chair.
• End of second semester – Thesis proposal approved by Masters Advisory Committee (MAC). Turn in signed Proposal Approval Form to Graduate Chair.
• End of third academic semester – Comprehensive exam finished.
• Sixth semester (Graduate semester) – Apply to graduate.
  • Submit thesis to committee at least two weeks prior to defense and provide thesis title and abstract to office staff.
  • Check TAD for their deadlines.
  • Submit CAS#8 (Report of the Oral Thesis Examination/Dissertation Defense) to Graduate Chair.
• End of every fall semester – MCB Graduate Student Progress Report.

Graduation Requirements

• A minimum of 20 graded hours of coursework at the graduate level, with at least 10 credit hours in PBIO, and excluding seminar, supervised study, colloquium, lab meetings, and research. Courses will be determined by the student and the advisor and approved by the Master's Advisory Committee.
• Successful completion of:
  • Biochemistry (CHEM 5901 or CHEM 5890).
  • Biological Research and Science Ethics (PBIO 5170).
  • One course in:
    MCB 7200 Molecular Biology (3 credits).
    MCB 7300 Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory (3 credits).
    PBIO 5310 Cell Biology or MCB 7600 Advanced Cell Biology (3 credits).
• Courses that are recommended:
  • PBIO 5010 Lab in Cell and Molecular Plant Physiology (Lab CaMPP) (2 credits).
  • PBIO 5150 Statistical Methods in Plant Biology (4 credits).
  • PBIO 5160 Problem Solving with Bioinformatics Tools (3 credits).
  • PBIO 5180 Writing in the Life Sciences (3 credits).
  • PBIO 8700 Biostatistics II (3 credits).
• A minimum of 10 hours of research (PBIO 6940).
• Successfully completion of two semesters of MCB 7410 (Seminar in MCB) each year.
• Must maintain a 3.00 GPA to remain in the MCB program and to graduate. If a student receives a grade of C+ or less in more than two courses, they will be terminated from the MCB program.
  • The student should inform their advisor and the Graduate Chair (PBIO & MCB) before withdrawing from a course because it may impact departmental support.
• Must complete a research thesis with the intent of publication in a peer-reviewed journal and successfully defend the thesis orally (see Section V below).

M.S. (MCB) Program of Study

• All new students should first consult the Memo of Understanding for details of the M.S. degree in MCB.
• A student may change advisors, but only after approval of the current and potential advisor, and the MCB Graduate Chair. If a student leaves their advisor, for whatever reason, they must find another PBIO MCB advisor within four weeks or before the start of the following semester. An unadvised student cannot remain in the graduate program beyond this time limit.

Master’s Advisory Committee and Proposal

• The thesis advisory committee will contain four faculty members: the advisor (as chair) and at least one additional member from the home department. At least three committee members must be faculty in MCB, and at least one committee member must be outside the student’s home department.
• No later than the end of the second semester (excluding summers), the thesis committee must approve the research proposal by signing the PBIO Proposal Defense Form. The form should be presented to the PBIO Graduate Chair along with a hard copy of the proposal.
• If the research project changes substantively (i.e., hypothesis or experimental design), the student must submit an updated proposal and seek approval of the committee.

MS (MCB) Written Comprehensive Examination

• Must be completed before the end of the third academic semester.
  • Failure to take the exam on time will likely result in termination of funding and/or dismissal from the program.
  • An examination may be repeated no more than one time.
    • Retakes must be completed by end on fourth semester.
    • Failure to pass the examination after a second attempt will result in termination in the MCB Program.
• Eligibility to take the comprehensive examination:
  • An approved research proposal.
  • Good academic standing.
• The Master’s Advisory Committee will provide the questions for the exam.
  • The student should contact her/his examiners the semester before the exam to discuss expectations, exam format, and to receive reading assignments.
  • The student will be notified in writing the results within one week of the
    exam.

M.S. (MCB) Thesis

• The student should meet once a semester with each committee member for informal progress reports.
• The thesis must use the format provided by the Thesis and Dissertation Services (TAD) by using the template provided by TAD.
• The M.S. thesis must be submitted to the committee at least two weeks before the examination date. The committee must approve the examination date.
• The thesis will be orally defended in a formal, public presentation. After the public presentation, the committee will conduct a closed-door defense to thoroughly evaluate the quality of the research. At this time, the committee will provide constructive comments to improve unsatisfactory sections.
  • The student should obtain copies of the Graduate Seminar/Final Seminar Critique Form from the departmental website and distribute them to his/her/their committee.
• The oral defense must be approved unanimously, as evident by presenting a committee signed CAS#8 (Report on the Oral Thesis Examination Defense) to the MCB Graduate Chair.
  • If a student receives only two passes, the committee, advisor, and student should work together in an attempt to satisfy the dissenting opinion via revision or additional work.
  • If a student receives less than two passes, a report of the thesis examination (indicating that the student has failed) will be submitted and the student will be dismissed from the graduate program.
• The thesis committee completes the Assessment of the Thesis Form to be submitted to the MCB Graduate Chair.
• A PDF of the finalized thesis will be submitted to TAD, along with CAS#8.